WITH 2017 drawing to an end, it’s time to look back on another action-packed year of sport in the North-East and North Yorkshire. Who will be this year’s big winners in the Northern Echo Sport Awards? Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson casts his vote
SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
JORDAN PICKFORD
This time last year, Washington-born goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was still trying to make his mark at Sunderland. Twelve months on, he finds himself at Everton after a £30m move, eyeing a place at next year’s World Cup finals. Who knows how good he might eventually become.
The 23-year-old spent the first five months of 2017 playing with Sunderland, and while the Black Cats might have suffered a miserable time as they crashed into the Championship, Pickford’s superb goalkeeping displays marked him out as someone special.
Sunderland were never going to be able to keep him in the second tier, and he became the most expensive player ever sold by the Wearsiders when he made his summer switch to Everton. The Toffees might have struggled in the first half of the current campaign, but Pickford has already established himself as a firm fans’ favourite thanks to a string of excellent displays.
On the international stage, Pickford spent the summer representing England at the European Under-21 Championships, and his penalty save in the opening game was a major factor in his side’s run to the semi-finals.
That earned him a step up to the senior stage, and he enjoyed the biggest night of his career so far when he kept a clean sheet on his full England debut against Germany last month.
Gareth Southgate showered him praise in the wake of that game, and with question marks over both Joe Hart and Jack Butland, Pickford could yet find himself in the starting line-up when England play their World Cup opener against Tunisia next summer.
Runner-up: Graeme Storm
Third: Nicola Wilson
2016 Jack Laugher
2015 Steph Houghton
2014 Katy McLean
2013 Ben Stokes
2012 Kat Copeland
2011 Tony Mowbray
2010 Adam Johnson
2009 Joanne Jackson
2008 Tony Jeffries
2007 Paul Collingwood
2006 Graeme Storm
YOUNG SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
GEORGIA O’CONNOR
Seventeen-year-old Georgia O’Connor has cemented her status as one of the most promising young talents in British boxing in the last 12 months, with her stand-out performance coming when she claimed a gold medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas.
Representing England at July’s competition, the Waterhouses teenager won a gold medal by beating Canada’s Naomie Pelletier in the final, with the success accompanying other 2017 victories at both the English and British Championships.
Georgia travelled to India for the Junior Women’s World Championships last month, and enjoyed another superb tournament as she came away with a silver medal. A member of GB’s high-performance squad, she has a good chance of making the team for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Runner-up: Markhim Lonsdale
Third: Daisy Cooil
2016 Amy Tinkler
2015 Amy Tinkler
2014 Jack Laugher
2013 Matthew Fisher
2012 Josef Craig
2011 Jack Hermeston
2010 Jordan Henderson
2009 Savannah Marshall
2008 Jemma Lowe
2007 Kieren Emery
2006 Paul Drinkhall
OVERSEAS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
SONATANE TAKULUA
This has been an excellent year for Newcastle Falcons, with the club powering towards the top half of the Aviva Premiership, and Tongan scrum-half Sonatane Takulua has been the stand-out performer for Dean Richards’ side.
The 26-year-old moved to Kingston Park in 2015, and is now justifiably regarded as one of the best number nines in the English game thanks to vast range of passing and instinctive creativity from the base of the scrum.
He has been key to the evolution of Falcons’ slick, expansive passing style, and excelled at both try-scoring and kicking duties in the second half of last season and the first half of the current campaign. His stand-out performance came in February, when he claimed a hat-trick of tries against Northampton.
Runner-up: Brydon Carse
Third: Julio Arca
2016 Gaston Ramirez
2015 Dimi Konstantopoulos
2014 Jonas Gutierrez
2013 Keaton Jennings
2012 Tim Krul
2011 Dale Benkenstein
2010 Jose Enrique
2009 Michael Di Venuto
2008 Dale Benkenstein
2007 Ottis Gibson
2006 Dale Benkenstein
COACH OF THE YEAR
RAFAEL BENITEZ
It could be argued that winning last season’s Championship title was merely par for the course for Newcastle United and their manager, Rafael Benitez, but as the current campaign is proving, it is never easy for a newly-relegated side to bounce back at the first time of asking.
Newcastle did it with aplomb, with Benitez assembling a side ideally suited to the demands of the second tier before successfully guiding his players through the inevitable highs and lows of a Championship campaign.
Life has proved tougher back in the Premier League, but despite being handicapped by the parsimonious financial policies adopted by Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, the Spaniard is the main reason why the Magpies head into the second half of the season with a decent chance of beating the drop.
Runner-up: Dean Richards
Third: Jon Lewis
2016 Martin Gray
2015 Aitor Karanka
2014 Jon Lewis
2013 Dean Richards
2012 James Harris
2011 Alan Pardew
2010 Steve McClaren
2009 Chris Hughton
2008 Geoff Cook
2007 Roy Keane
2006 Fab Flournoy
PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
GRAEME STORM WINNING THE SOUTH AFRICAN OPEN
Prior to teeing it up in South Africa at the start of the year, Hartlepool golfer Graeme Storm had gone almost ten years without recording a European Tour victory. However, he ended that run in the most spectacular fashion possible, beating multiple Major winner Rory McIlroy in a thrilling play-off.
Storm played superbly over the four days of the tournament, even though just three months earlier, he had looked certain to lose his Tour card. He finished on 18 under par to force a play-off with McIlroy and the pair were inseparable over the first two extra holes.
However, when McIlroy missed the green at the third play-off hole, Storm sensed his chance, and a par proved sufficient to hand the North-Easterner the biggest win of his career. The victory proved the spark for a hugely successful season, with Storm also finishing in the top five at the British Masters at Close House.
Runner-up: Nicola Wilson winning an individual and team medal at the European Eventing Championships
Third: Jordan Pickford keeping a clean sheet on his England debut
2016 Keaton Jennings hitting a century on his Test debut
2015 Mecca’s Angel winning the Nunthorpe
2014 Richard Kilty wins the 60m title at the World Indoor Championships
2013 Josef Craig breaks the world record at the World Championships
2012 Savannah Marshall becomes Women’s World Boxing champion
2011 Chris Tomlinson breaks the British long jump record
2010 Simon Vallily wins a Commonwealth Games gold medal in boxing
2009 Joanne Jackson breaks the swimming World record
2008 Stewart Downing’s man-of-the-match display for England v Germany
2007 Ottis Gibson claims all ten wickets in an innings for Durham v Hampshire
2006 Newcastle swimmer Chris Cook wins gold at the Commonwealth Games
MOMENT OF THE YEAR
GLEN DURRANT WINS THE BDO WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP
Middlesbrough’s Glen Durrant has spent the last few years establishing himself as the number one player in the British Darts Organisation. Up until this January, however, the World Championship remained the one major trophy that eluded him.
That all changed during an unforgettable fortnight at the Lakeside, as Durrant held his nerve to claim the biggest victory of his career.
The Ormesby arrowsmith survived a few scares in the early rounds, but was at his best in the final as he beat Dutchman Danny Noppert 7-3. A successful year also saw him triumph in the Welsh Open, Winmau Wolverhampton Classic and Denmark Masters, and he will defend his World title at Frimley Green next month.
Runner-up: Newcastle winning the Championship title on a dramatic final day
Third: Close House staging the British Masters
2016 Middlesbrough clinch promotion against Brighton
2015 The All Blacks and Tonga perform their pre-match routines ahead of their Rugby World Cup match in Newcastle
2014 The Tour de France heads up the Buttertubs Pass
2013 The first ball of the Ashes Test at Chester-le-Street
2012 Doug Embleton and Shaun Campbell save Darlington with a suitcase containing £5,000
2011 Chris Senior’s FA Trophy-winning goal for Darlington
2010 Tony Mowbray’s return to Middlesbrough
2009 Sir Bobby Robson’s memorial service at Durham Cathedral
2008 Joe Kinnear’s rant at the press
2007 Mathew Tait’s run in the Rugby World Cup final
TEAM OF THE YEAR
SOUTH SHIELDS
South Shields can justifiably claim to be the most successful football club in the North-East at the moment, and their rise up the footballing pyramid shows no sign of stopping.
The 2016-17 season saw the Mariners win a remarkable four trophies. A 32-game winning run helped them claim the Northern League title, and they also won the Durham Challenge Cup and Northern League Challenge Cup. Their greatest day came at Wembley, as they beat Cleethorpes Town 4-0 in the final of the FA Vase.
The 2017-18 season has been every bit as good, with South Shields currently sitting at the top of the Evo-Stik League table. They enjoyed a remarkable run in the FA Cup, beating Darlington and York City from higher divisions before losing to Hartlepool United in the final qualifying round.
Runner-up: Newcastle Falcons
Third: Newcastle United
2016 Durham
2015 Yorkshire
2014 Yorkshire
2013 Durham
2012 Newcastle Eagles
2011 Newcastle United
2010 Whitley Bay
2009 Durham
2008 Durham
2007 Durham
2006 Newcastle Eagles
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
GORDON SURTEES
Gordon Surtees, who died in September, was one of the most respected athletics coaches in the country thanks to more than five decades of dedication to the sport.
In an incredibly distinguished career, the Teessider coached 38 internationals, of whom 19 competed in major championships and seven were Olympians.
A regular presence at Middlesbrough’s Clairville Stadium, Surtees was Britain’s national event coach for middle-distance athletes, steeplechase, marathon and cross-country, and worked with Olympic steeplechase finalist Dennis Coates, North-East miler Tony Morrell and Great North Run winner Steve Kenyon as well as a host of other well-known stars.
2016 Denys Smith
2015 Kath Cassidy
2014 Mick Mulhern
2013 Geoff Cook
2012 Sir Bob Murray
2011 Dave Elderkin
2010 Niall Quinn
2009 Dave Parnaby
2008 Stephen Miller
2007 Sir Bobby Robson
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